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Last year at MIT, researchers identified a neural circuit that helps the brain to create long-lasting memories, and the circuit was found to work more effectively when the brain is actively paying attention to what it's looking at. Numerous studies have also found that when students multitask while doing schoolwork, they understand and retain less of the information.

The bottom line? If you lose the bigger story, you're likely lose the smaller details, too.

So-called "senior moments" are becoming increasingly common among younger people, recent data has found, and it's thought to be due, at least in part, to excessive reliance on technology. A 2013 Trending Machine national poll found that millennials (aged 18-34) are more likely than those over the age of 55 to forget what day it is (15 percent vs. 7 percent) and where they put their keys (14 percent vs. 8 percent). Gen-Yers even forget to take a shower (6 percent) more frequently than seniors. Rising stress levels (which may also have something to do with constant connectivity) could be a factor as well.

“You know the person your going to meet is somewhere close in the building preparing for you, maybe by looking you up on Facebook or Googling your name, possibly reading an embarrassing entry about you on your mom's blog or being surprised to not find you on LinkedIn,” said Hanaike.

“I can't just be myself where and when I want because anything I do has the potential to end up on some site somewhere where anyone can look at it and judge. I feel like I need to water down who I am.”